Catucci John - You gotta go here!: 397 hidden gems and hometown favourites in Canada and beyond

(road): iStock.com/SensorSpot; (John): Geoff George Geoff George We hope this book provides much joy and a road map to your next great adventure (whether its across the country or down the street). However, before heading out to a restaurant or attraction, always make sure to check if they are open and have what you want. Restaurants sometimes change locations or even close. Sometimes chefs leave and new ones arrive, bringing fresh, new menus with them. Dishes that are featured in this book may no longer be available (although they sure were delicious when we were there visiting). Have fun! CONTENTS This Tundra Buggy stands well above the 11 feet a polar bear can reach on its hind legs. courtesy of John Catucci They may look slow and lumbering, but polar bears can hit top speeds of almost 20 mph! Remember to always have someone slower than you in the group.Ahh, Ireland.

I love your rolling hills and hidden lakes, but what I really crave is your mashed potatohash brown hybrid, boxty.Ciao! See what happens to my face when we get a few days off? Travel. For many of us, its the end zone, the goal line, the checkered flag. Its where we want to end up someday, the reward for years of hard work, a respite from busy lives. When I retire, Im going to travel.Im going to take a year off from school to travel.Hey, how was your holiday?Amazing! We visited [whatever exotic destination your buddy actually went to]. Not surprisingly, the travel industry is big business. Back in 2013, Forbes magazine noted that more than a trillion dollars was spent on travel worldwidein the previous year alone! And travel has only gained in popularity since then.

Think of all the websites, businesses, TV shows, and books (including this one!) dedicated to travel. Its huge. For good reason, too. Simply put, travel is freakin amazing. I mean, few things can compare with the sheer joy and exhilaration of packing your suitcase or backpack and heading off into the great unknown. Travel affords us the opportunity to see exotic places, meet new people with different ways of looking at the world, and (best of all!) try different kinds of food.

Its not just for single people, either. Travelling as a family is easier and more affordable than ever. That wasnt the case when I was a kid, especially for working-class families like mine. Money was tight in the Catucci household. In fact, the first overseas vacation we ever had was cut short by tragedy. When I was four years old, my parents decided to take me to Italy for a month.

My nonna (grandmother) and aunt came to the airport to see us off. My aunt later recounted the chilling tale: As we boarded the plane, my nonna turned to her and said, Thats the last time Ill ever see them. Nonna died the next day. I remember being in Italy, sitting on someones kitchen counter, when the news of my nonnas death arrived. It was the first time I ever saw my father cry. Needless to say, we cut our trip short and went home.

Luckily, we travelled back to Italy eight years later. That was the last family trip we ever took. Man, how things have changed. Now I make my living by travelling to far-flung destinations both here in Canada and abroad. In five years of shooting You Gotta Eat Here!, Ive not only covered every province and all but one territory, but also spent time in the United States, England, Ireland, and Italy. And every step of the way has been incredible.

As I always say, I have the best job in the world. And I do. Yet theres some irony in all my travelling: I dont get to share it with my family. Not in person, that is. You see, even though I would love to have my wife and our two daughters accompany me on my trips, most of my travels are with the You Gotta Eat Here! crew: our director, Jim Morrison; director of photography, Steve Lindsay; sound man, Scott Chappel; camera assistant, Josh Henderson; and field producer, Sarah Cutts. So, for now, I share my adventures with my kids through stories and conversation.

I did buy them an atlas, so now when I check in with them at night they flip through it to see where Dad is at the moment. Its not the same as holding their hands as we walk through London, but it helps ease the pain of being away from home so often. If spending three-quarters of the year on the road has been a bit difficult, its a challenge tempered by the education Ive gotten and experiences Ive had. Thereve been some very valuable lessons along the way, some obvious, some not so much. LESSON #1 : Canada Is Massive Did you really need me to tell you that? Okay, so we all know what the textbooks tell us: Canada has the second-largest land mass of any country on earth. But its not until you start travelling this amazingly diverse country that you realize exactly what that means.

Take my home province of Ontario, for example. Yes, you can fit Italy inside it. Its that big. But lets put it in a practical context: To drive from my hometown of Toronto to Vermilion Bay (where we visited Busters BBQ in Season 1) takes twenty hours... and youre still in the same province! LESSON #2 : Food Is the International Language Whether its Canada, the United States, Italy, England, or Ireland, we all speak the common language of food. We love talking about it, thinking about it, shopping for it, preparing it, smelling it, and eating it. Sure, we all put different things in our food, but thats what makes the world interesting, isnt it? (And thank goodness we all like pizza...) LESSON #3 : Canada Humbles You with Size, Europe Humbles You with Age Canada turns 150 years old in 2017! Woohoo! As exciting as that is to, oh, about 35 million humans, there are people in Europe older than Canada. Actually, that statement is not backed up by fact.

Come to think of it, 150 is really old for a person. But in terms of Europe, its just a drop in the bucket. I think thats what I love most about Europe. Almost everywhere you go, you feel the history under your feet. Oh, this caf is in a 3000-year-old building? Well that certainly gives a sense of historyand reminds us just how small we are in the grand scheme of things. LESSON #4 : The Key to Any Great Recipe Is Love This might sound strange coming from a guy who samples food for a living, but anybody can make a burger.

Just mush some ground beef into a patty, throw it in the frying pan, and a few minutes later... voila! Burger. What separates that kind of meal from the kind that resonates in both your stomach and your memory is love. I cant tell what it tastes like, but you sure know it when you bite into it. Whether its Franks Pizza House in Toronto or Neighbours Restaurant in Vancouver, love is the difference between someones job and someones life. Come take a journey with me and the crew across Canada, with a few stops for good measure in the US and across the Atlantic.